"Any time we get recognized on a national level it's incredibly meaningful to us," said Johanna Kelly, Kalamazoo Beer Exchange event coordinator, noting that the bar's whole team works hard for their customers.

"It's not so much the award that makes us happy but that so many people have a great experience with us."

RateBeer.com, a website that annually ranks the best beer, breweries and retailers in the craft beer industry ranked Kalamazoo Beer Exchange as Michigan's best bar on the recently released list "World's Best Places for Beer by Subregion."

Joining KBE on the list were Grand Rapids mainstay HopCat as Michigan's best brewpub, Founders Brewing Co. as Michigan's best brewer tap room and Siciliano's Specialty Market in Grand Rapids as the state's best grocery.

In other lists released by RateBeer, Bell's Brewery Inc. was rated the top brewer in Michigan in RateBeer's 2013 list of "Top Beers, Brewers, New Brewers by Region," joined in the ranking by Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout for the state's best beer and Griffin Claw Brewing Co. of Birmingham as the state's best new brewer.

Kalamazoo Beer Exchange opened in December 2010 at 211 E. Water St., adjacent to the Arcadia Creek Festival Place and offers 28 drought beers from around the world, according to the bar's website.

Prices at the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange change every 15 minutes based on the "market" or what beers customers are buying. At random, the stock market crashes and beers are sold at a low rate for five minutes. The bar also offers a full food menu.

"Really everything we do boils down to customer service and making people happy," Kelly said.

Kelly said KBE staff have not seen any other bars operate on the scale that they do. At some bars, owners pick one or two beers and make them cheaper for a limited time. Proprietary software runs the exchange, Kelly said.

Emily Monacelli covers local government and beer for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact her at emonacel@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.